Newfoundland
by MorganLeFay33
Summary: "It feels like we're on the very edge of the world. Don't you think so, O'Brien?" - Short little AU


_Don't ask me where this idea came from, because I really don't know. _

_The background: _

_Sarah accompanies Cora on a trip to North America, and while there, they set off to Newfoundland to visit some of Cora's distant relatives. The day they arrive, the weather is terrible and it's growing dark. When the passengers of the ship embark, they learn that they must spend the night in a small seaside inn before they can travel onward. There is a shortage of rooms and it's cold!_

**Newfoundland**

Cora wrapped the thick blanket around herself, shivering as she sat and watched O'Brien putter around the room, unpacking some of their things and drawing the covers down on their two small beds.

"O'Brien, aren't you cold?" Cora chattered.

Her lady's maid paused and responded with a gentle smile, "I've known much worse, M'Lady."

Cora turned and gazed out the window. There hadn't been much sun to begin with, but she could tell that it was starting to set. She felt oddly calmed by the sleepy glow of yellow lamps along the small cobblestone street. She peered over the tops of the gray cottages and lighthouse, trying to catch a glimpse of the turbulent sea behind them.

"It feels like we're on the very edge of the world. Don't you think so, O'Brien?"

Sarah paused to look out the window as well, feeling a rush of excitement at the thought.

"It does, M'Lady. It does very much." She placed her hand on her Ladyship's shoulder and squeezed lightly, drawn in by the ever-present smell of her perfume and the way her chestnut hair gleamed in the nearly darkened room. They had started to become closer since they'd arrived in North America, with small, affectionate touches here and there. It had happened so simply. They both needed a familiar voice, a familiar face in the midst of this unfamiliar wilderness. Sharing a bedroom might have seemed absurd at Downton, but in this place, it felt necessary for their survival.

Sarah looked around at their cozy room, pleased with the clean whiteness of the quilts, rugs, walls, and curtains. She liked the decorations too. Sarah felt like she was somewhere in Scandinavia, maybe Norway. She'd never been to Norway, but she'd always imagined that this is what it would look like. She smiled wistfully, thinking of her childhood storybook pictures of northern fishing towns. At age six, she'd determinedly told her older brother that she would one day keep an arctic seal for a pet. He'd laughed at her and ruffled her hair. She missed him.

"Are you about ready for bed, M'Lady?"

"Yes, O'Brien. I think so."

Sarah watched as her lady rose gracefully from her chair, her swan-like, ghostly silhouette practically a will-o-wisp in the faded evening light. Sarah wasn't sure what exactly she wanted in this moment. She wanted to walk over to her Ladyship and hold her tightly. She wanted to whisper to her that she loved her and warm her frozen hands in her own. She wanted to sit in her embrace and watch the vast expanse of sky lose all traces of light. She wanted to weep at the loneliness of the dark island where they had landed. She wanted to lay her head on her lady's delicate shoulder and fall asleep there in perfect silence. She was ecstatic, and yet miserable.

Once O'Brien had undressed her and tucked her into bed, Cora watched her lady's maid undress herself in the flickering candlelight. It was an ethereal dance between O'Brien and the shadows bouncing along the wall. Cora did not know why, but she wanted to reach out and touch her maid, to run her hands along her full hips and bury her face in the dark curls cascading down her back. She wanted to grasp fistfuls of her nightdress and nuzzle the warm skin where her neck met her collarbone. Cora turned on her side and looked out the window once more before her lady's maid blew out the candle. All she could see now were the dull, yellow orbs of the lamps outside.

"Sleep well, M'Lady."

"Good night, O'Brien."

Cora could not sleep well. She could not sleep at all. The chill of the whistling wind outside had seeped into her bones and she shivered alone in her bed. She needed someone to hold her.

Sarah opened her eyes and sat up, strangely unsurprised to see her lady standing above her.

"I am so cold, Sarah," she said quietly. There was a deep sadness in her words - an aching, unfathomable grief that Sarah had always sensed was there.

The sound of her Christian name flowing from Cora's smooth voice made Sarah melt. Sarah shuffled to the side of her small bed, drew down the bedcovers, and whispered softly,

"Come in, love."

This was surely a dream. Her words floated so freely, and Cora acquiesced without hesitating.

Cora burrowed beneath the quilt, feeling Sarah's strong arms grab her waist and pull her in close. She was enveloped by the warm body of the woman behind her and began to match her steady breathing. Their chests rose and fell in time, and Cora was soothingly reminded of the changing cycles of the tides and of the moon and of the seasons.

Sarah felt the tingling of tears in her eyes as she lay there with Cora. They weren't real tears - just misty little drops of saltwater like the ones that flew through the air outside their window. She smiled sleepily to herself as Cora's frail body began to heat, glad the cold was leaving her be.

Cora turned in Sarah's hold so that they met face to face in the darkness. She placed one arm around her maid's waist, mirroring her. She moved in so closely that there was no space between them and looked straight into Sarah's steadfast, open eyes before placing a tender kiss on her lips.

There would be no going back now. They had reached new ground, and nothing could ever pull them apart.

_Hope you enjoyed this little one-off! Stay warm tonight._

_xoxo, _

_Morgana_


End file.
